Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning
Gold Hat Productions
Free State is a podcast for the curious that stimulates, provokes, challenges and entertains, while never taking itself too seriously. Free State covers topics from sport to politics, love to loss, the human condition and how to fix the world, with guests from across the planet including Nigerian princes, former Prime Ministers, ex convicts, footballers, boxers and extraordinary people from every walk of life. Free State is presented by Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning. Brolly is a barrister, an original thinker with a fascinating backstory, who donated a kidney to a stranger and then led a crusade to transform organ donation on the island of Ireland, and Fanning is an award-winning interviewer and author. They are not motivational gurus or life coaches. They will never try to sell you a penis scented candle. They are two people from very different worlds, with one core belief uniting them - this is not a high performance podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 22, 2023 • 1h 1min
Death On The Mediterranean
Stalin said one death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic. On Free State this week, Dion and Joe discuss the tragedy of tens of thousands drowning in the Mediterranean. They wonder how we lost touch with our own humanity and why people fall for the same tricks of hate peddled for centuries. They also ask why did four of our own MEPs vote against a resolution that would have ramped up search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean?Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 15, 2023 • 44min
Hate, Housing & Happiness - Pat Gilroy’s Roadmap to Utopia
Fresh from Dublin’s triumph in the All Ireland final, Joe and Dion welcome an old friend back to Free State. Pat Gilroy returns to talk about why the most vulnerable have always been a target throughout history and why inequality is at the root of society’s problems. Pat also explains what a GAA World Series would look like and outlines his radical solution to the Dublin housing crisis…Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 8, 2023 • 46min
Don’t Cry For Me, Falkland Islands
Donald Trump continues to demonstrate how reality can be hijacked by lies. This week Dion and Joe look at how America and Britain have been lost to populism while wondering why the Falkland Islands are more loved in Britain than Northern Ireland. Joe also undertakes not to sue his own podcast…Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 1, 2023 • 42min
Unleash the superhero within: How to become a multi millionaire, a wonderful lover and a complete a**hole.
Can you sustain an orgasm for 15 minutes? Joe and Dion help you unleash the superhero within and they disagree about the power of the mind. Joe also remembers a fiery encounter with Enda McNultyFree State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 25, 2023 • 1h 17min
The Surprising Truth About Champions feat. Philly McMahon & Ger Brennan
What makes a champion? Philly McMahon and Ger Brennan talk to Joe and Dion about what they were prepared to do as they helped to shape that great Dublin team. Philly tells the extraordinary story of his father’s life on the run while Ger explains why he was drawn to the priesthood before taking another path. They speak about hate and glory and the power in finding a thing - whatever it is - that is bigger than you.Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 20, 2023 • 52min
RTÉ The Musical - Act 2
You’ve got to pick a pocket or two...You can say what you like about Ryan Tubridy but do not question his soul, his love for the decent people of Ireland and, in particular, the decent people of Louth. In Act II of RTÉ The Musical, Joe and Dion look at the evidence the Toy Man, his agent Noel Kelly and the RTÉ executives provided to the Oireachtas committees. They also extend an invitation to Ryan Tubridy…Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 18, 2023 • 47min
RTÉ The Musical - Act 1
Show me the (taxpayers) money...What does the RTÉ scandal tell us about Ireland? Joe and Dion explain why this was always about more than Ryan Tubridy’s salary. The Late Late Show’s decline from the glory days of Gay Byrne shows how RTÉ has been captured and why it can’t be a public service broadcaster and an advertising agency at the same time.Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 11, 2023 • 53min
The Inglorious 12th
Do you know the words to The Sash? Is it culture or hate that sees effigies of politicians including Leo Varadkar burned on bonfires? This week Joe and Dion discuss the Twelfth of July, the role it plays in the siege mentality of the DUP and how to change it. Also is it better for RTE to have Gregory Campbell on the airwaves or Noel Kelly’s clients? And Dion finally persuades Joe to talk about cricket.Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 3, 2023 • 60min
The Sportswriter
Richard Ford, the Pulitzer Prize winning author, joins Joe and Dion on this week’s Free State.Before he became a novelist, Richard was a sportswriter. He talks to Dion and Joe about why he will defend America when people attack it, his views on President Biden and an extraordinary and hilarious encounter with Muhammad Ali in 1969.We also find out what happened to Joe’s own unfinished Great Irish Novel, a novel inspired by the works of Richard Ford.Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 26, 2023 • 51min
The Ultimate Gunfighter
Humans have always been drawn towards violence but is there a limit to the licence to thrill? Violence has always been a part of sport but now with events like Power Slap, sport is a tiny part of violence. Where will it end? Dion and Joe welcome back an old friend and ask, as Saudi Arabia takes over sport, could public executions one day become a pay per view event?Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
